Chapter 10
ARABELLA
“ A rabella!” The voice sounded distant, repeating faintly through my head as if part of a dream. Was it Aunt Julia’s voice? It grew louder, more persistent, until my eyes flew open.
“Arabella, wake up this instant!” Aunt Julia stood above my bed, shaking my shoulder. Her hair was still in rags, a white nightdress draped over her figure.
I blinked against the bright light pouring through the open curtains.
During my time in Bath, I had grown accustomed to sleeping through the noise of Milsom Street early in the mornings, but now that I was awake, I heard every rattling carriage from down below.
I sat up quickly at the urgency in Aunt Julia’s eyes.
“What is it? Is something amiss?” My gaze darted around the room. Aunt Julia slept on the other side of the room with a writing desk between the two beds. Her covers were still strewn about, hanging off one side of the bed. Hannah stood near the door, her apron dusted in flour.
Dread sank through my chest. Had Freddy been up to mischief again?
“This came for you.” Aunt Julia plopped herself down on the edge of my bed, dropping a neatly folded square of paper onto my lap. I stared at the writing on the front—the perfect slants and curves that spelled my name.
Miss Arabella Sharp
I tried to swallow, but my throat was too dry. I had a suspicion about who the letter was from. My heart hammered fast in my chest. “May I have some water?” I asked when I saw a glass sitting on the desk.
Aunt Julia nodded, rising quickly to fetch it.
I gulped down one sip before a wave of revulsion made me nearly spit it out.
The hot, bitter water burned as I swallowed it.
I should have known Aunt Julia would only sip the sulfurous mineral water from the Pump Room in the mornings.
She sent Hannah to fetch it daily, and I had avoided drinking it since my first taste weeks before.
I coughed, handing the glass back to Aunt Julia. “Thank you,” I managed. With a deep breath, I unfolded the paper to reveal a few short sentences.
Dear Miss Sharp,
I thoroughly enjoyed our walk yesterday. If you are not otherwise engaged, I would be delighted to receive you for a picnic in my gardens this afternoon at two o’clock. I hope you have not misplaced your chaperone. She is invited as well.
Yours truly,
Mr. Campbell
No. 6 The Circus, Bath
I stared at the brief message for a long moment before looking up at Aunt Julia’s eager expression.
She sat mere inches from me on the bed. I most certainly wouldn’t be misplacing her anytime soon.
“Who is it from? Is it from Mr. Campbell?” She was polite enough not to lean over the note to read it herself, but I could see the temptation gleaming in her eyes.
“Yes.”
A gasp erupted from her mouth. “What did he say?”
“He has invited me to a picnic in his gardens this afternoon.” I could hardly believe the words even as they left my mouth. “At two.”
Aunt Julia shot a glance in Hannah’s direction. Even our maid looked shocked.
“What wonderful news! Splendid!” Aunt Julia grasped my arm tightly.
“You must write a response to him at once!” She practically dragged me out of bed toward the writing desk, pulling out the chair and pushing down on my shoulders until I sat in it.
With a huffed breath, I pushed the rags I had tied in my hair the night before away from my eyes.
I had never courted a gentleman before, so I hardly knew what to say.
My act of indifference was the only thing that seemed to be working, so I lifted my pen and wrote:
Dear Mr. Campbell,
A picnic does sound like a pleasant enough way to spend an afternoon, especially if there is a pineapple involved. I assume you will be serving one? I will arrive promptly at two o’clock with my aunt.
Miss Sharp
“A pineapple?” Aunt Julia hovered over my shoulder.
I slapped my hands over the paper. “No.”
“That is what I read.”
“You must have been mistaken.” I quickly folded the paper and wrote Mr. Campbell’s name on the outside in my most elegant hand. Before Aunt Julia could question me further, I waved Hannah forward and slipped the note into her hand. She would deliver it promptly, I was confident.
Aunt Julia scowled at me when I turned around.
“I hope you are not making demands of Mr. Campbell. You are fortunate that he has noticed you at all. I cannot wait to tell your mother about your courtship. Think of how pleased she will be to learn that you are courting a man of Mr. Campbell’s standing.
She never would have thought it possible. ”
I tried to brush off the insult, but it lingered on my skin, digging under the surface like a thorn.
I knew it wasn’t my fault that I didn’t attract very much attention from gentlemen, but it still stung when I passed year after year without a proposal.
The financial difficulties my family faced were not a secret to most of society, and John’s reckless reputation hadn’t gone unnoticed in Dorset.
With such dismal connections and a lack of a dowry, I relied solely on my accomplishments and appearance, which did not extend far.
She hadn’t said it aloud, but I knew that Mama had sent me to Bath with Aunt Julia with the hopes that I might miraculously find a match.
My heart ached to think of how very shocked she would be to learn that a man had brought me flowers.
She would be even more shocked to learn that I had rejected them.
Aunt Julia set to work writing a letter to my mother while I unraveled the rags from my hair.
Thankfully the dark strands had curled neatly, and my cheeks were already slightly flushed.
I stared at my reflection, attempting to capture once again the determination I had felt at Lady Benton’s party.
I was not leaving Bath without a proposal.
And it was going to be from Mr. Campbell.
When Hannah returned from delivering my letter, she abandoned her scones in the kitchen and helped me dress. I wore my white muslin dress with blue ribbons. My freckles came out in the sun, and the sky was cloudless that day, so she arranged my hair to fit perfectly under my bonnet.
The hours crawled by. It didn’t help that Aunt Julia announced the passage of each one, declaring how soon we would depart for the Circus. By the time we took our leave, I was more relieved than nervous.
I exchanged a glance with Freddy on the way out of the drawing room.
He gave me an encouraging nod, and I ignored the pang of resentment that arose in my heart.
I had promised Papa that I would look after him.
But the pressure on my shoulders made each step difficult as I made my way to meet Mr. Campbell.
All the townhouses in the Circus were nearly identical to one another on the outside, neat and perfect, the golden stone facades curving in a circle facing inward.
It was obvious why a man like Mr. Campbell had been drawn to such organized, elegant living quarters.
He belonged there among the extravagantly dressed ladies and gentlemen strolling through the shared grounds.
I, on the other hand, felt entirely out of place. I had learned how to look elegant, but I hardly knew how to act like it, especially when I was uncomfortable. A tall woman with a fluffy orange Pomeranian walked past, her piercing gaze studying me from head to toe.
I stared up at the townhouse marked No. 6, the tall white doors looming ahead.
What if Mr. Campbell didn’t even live here?
The thought of being tricked so heartlessly made my stomach drop.
Aunt Julia must have felt a similar sense of discontent, because she stopped walking a few paces short of the front steps.
“Go on,” she whispered in a somber voice, as if we were approaching a grave rather than a house.
She followed behind me as I stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The sound echoed from within, and a butler opened the door within seconds.
He ushered us into the entrance hall. It was far more spacious than it had appeared to be from the outside, with intricate wood and plasterwork covering every inch.
Portraits framed in gold lined the upper half of the walls.
I recognized Mr. Campbell in one, with his stoic expression and perfectly arranged hair.
A smaller portrait beside it was draped in a white sheet.
I scowled at it, but I barely had time to examine the abnormality before a deep voice came from around the corner.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Cresswell.” A pause. “Miss Sharp.”
I turned, my heart leaping in my chest. Mr. Campbell strode forward, his gaze settling on me. “I’m pleased that you’ve accepted my invitation. I wasn’t certain you would.”
I stared up at him, struggling to find my voice.
I had never been in his territory before.
He fit in perfectly with the expensive furnishings, not a single hair out of place on his head.
His eyes were not only blue; they were turquoise, layered with various shades of green.
They looked far more pleasant when he was smiling, which he was doing now.
“As I said, I wasn’t otherwise engaged. And I do like to be engaged.” I grimaced the moment the words escaped me, but it was too late. I felt Aunt Julia tense beside me.
Half of Mr. Campbell’s mouth lifted. “And how often do you find yourself engaged, Miss Sharp?”
I thought of my last meeting with Kate, and the very direct advice she had given. Flirt with him in return. I was not doing very well so far. “My aunt would say not nearly often enough.”
Aunt Julia laughed, but it sounded more like a squeak.
Mr. Campbell examined my expression, an amused gleam in his eyes. “It is my belief that one engagement in a lifetime should be enough. Don’t you agree?”
I tipped my head to one side. “I don’t think we are referring to the same sort of engagement, sir.”
A low laugh escaped him. “My apologies.”